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Sunday, September 20, 2015

Passport Required

Last summer my hubby went on his
annual canoe trip into the wilds of Canada.Besides the wonderful scenery and physical challenges, an additional
benefit has been the forging of these male friendships for the past 11 summers.

Every year Charlie has come home with
yet another invite (from his canoe buddies) for us, as a couple, to head to
Canada for a visit.We discussed it but
it ever seemed to end up a priority….until this year.

This has been a watershed year…. a
year when we, and many of our friends, have turned the
“I-am-undeniably-considered-old” year.Birthday celebrations have been especially significant and it was one of
those events that signaled it was time for us to head to Toronto.We got an invite to (friend) Dave’s 70th
birthday party; that came hand-in-hand with an invitation from another member
of the canoe crew and his wife.Now we
had a party to attend and another couple to house and entertain us.Done deal!

When we made this decision in August,
I realized my passport had expired and looking at the calendar, figured I’d better
get that application turned in ASAP.I
headed over to the appropriate governmental office (only a block from my
house…don’t you love small town living?!) and picked up the application form.The questions were endless, many inquiring
about my legal status (had I committed any crimes or ever been arrested?) and
my citizenship.

I filled it out, updated my photo and
sent it off.I hoped it would arrive in
time; all of our travel plans hinged on receiving approval from the
“powers-that-be”. Thankfully, my passport did
arrive, with time to spare, and my husband affirmed to our Canadian friends
that we would, indeed, be joining them.

On the actual day of travel we got an
early start, hoping we would get through the border easily. On the way out the door….and again as we were
pulling down the driveway, I checked on that passport, making certain it was
not sitting in the house somewhere.Yes,
indeed it was in my possession!

Several hours later we arrived at the
US/Canadian border where we were asked a few questions and sent on our
way.Yay!The return trip, same experience.More yay!I breathed a sigh of relief that the process was so easy.

What if….what if we had headed for
Canada and arrived at the border, only to discover we had no passports?I think it’s pretty obvious we would not have
been allowed to cross over only to have our travel plans thwarted.

The day is coming for all of us when
we will be reaching a time of “crossing over”…leaving our home on earth.It will probably not be a time of our
choosing and could come on us rather
suddenly.Like this border crossing
between the 2 countries, where passports were required to complete our journey,
we also will need a “passport” if we want to “cross the border into heaven” one
day.

But here is the really, really great news!Unlike all the paperwork I needed to complete
to renew my passport, there is NOTHING like that needed for my entrance into
heaven.You see, Jesus did all the work for me…and for you!He bridged the
gap for us; you know, the gap created
by our sin that separates us from God. He did the hard work required for our entrance into heaven at the end of
this earthly journey.

So why do we make this so complicated
when all we have to do is accept the blood sacrifice Jesus made on the
cross?I John 5:11 tells us God has
given us eternal life in His Son.Jesus
says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life.No one comes to the Father except through
me.”Peter tells us in Acts 4: 12,
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus) under
heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

There are not multiple ways where we
hope we choose the right one; there are no hoops to jump through; there is no
specifically worded script or lengthy form to fill out; there is no secret
ceremony.Just believe in Jesus, confess
your sin, ask Jesus to be Lord of your life and then watch and see what He
does!That’s the only “passport” any of
us needs to confidently reach the end of this life’s road and joyfully cross
the “border”.

“[That] if you confess with your
mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”Romans 10: 9 & 10